Are you my friend? #EdCampDSM

Saturday started like a regular school day for me. I awoke at 5:00 AM and got ready. But instead of going to school, I drove 2 hours to a grade school in Clive, Iowa for #EdCampDSM. It was a great day! I love EdCamps. This was my 8th EdCamp since attending my first EdCamp in [Read On]

The Ins and Outs of a Classroom Twitter Account

This past March, I attended #EdCampOmaha. I went to a session led by my friend @MattBGomez. Matt is an awesome Kindergarten teacher and I respect and trust his advice. I’ve always wanted to have a classroom Twitter account, but our discussion that day, at #EdCampOmaha cinched it for me. My biggest worry about having a [Read On]

Crazy About Widgets!

My new classroom wiki is beginning to take shape. I love using Wikispaces to host all the great projects my Third Graders create. So, keep an eye on our wiki and watch it grow! I really love adding widgets to wikis. My favorite type of widget is anything related to Geography. I just added a [Read On]

A Paperless Way to Select a Read Aloud Book

Here we are, in our first week of school, and I’m itching to begin our first read aloud. I love to read to my students! But, I wanted them to have a choice in which book I would read first. Technology to the rescue! I picked 3 books that I would like to read to [Read On]

Our First Day in Third Grade

Well, it’s not actually my first day in 3rd grade. You’d think after 10 year in 3rd grade, I would pass! It was a great start to the year. But I always forget how long setting up routines and procedures take. But I do know that they sure make for a smooth running classroom after they [Read On]

A QR Code Open House

Thursday was our Open House. I love this opportunity to meet my new students and their parents. It was a very busy 2 hours.  I think I had half my students stop by in the first 30 minutes! Just like last year, I had my students explore the room and look for 4 QR Codes. [Read On]

Welcoming My Students Back! #TLAP

And this greeted me on my first day #BackToSchool

Who wouldn’t love to see this on your first day back? It just put a smile on our faces and renewed our love for our jobs. From what I understand, since it wasn’t signed, that it was made by an alumni and current parent, Jerry Underwood. The chalk was provided by another alumni and current [Read On]

Teach Like a Pirate, CatholicEd Style

I began the summer reading a book highly recommended by my Twitter PLN. Ahoy! That book be Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess. Avast! Buy your copy today! In all seriousness, this book was a great read and inspiring to me. I love how Dave included has many examples of his teaching.  I also [Read On]

Three Ways to Invite the Saints to Your Catholic Classroom

Yes, I’m a fan of the Saints of the Catholic church. What a gift our church has given us!  Heros to look up to. Heros to walk with us. Heros who pray with us. I am also a fan of podcasts. The first podcast I subscribed to was The Saintcast by Dr. Paul Camarata. Take [Read On]